2012 Kia Sorento EX Review

2012 Kia Sorento EX Review

Just a few weeks ago, I was given the awesome opportunity to drive this awesome SUV for 7 days so I could write a Kia Sorento review on Bay Area Mommy.

And drive we did! The Kia Sorento EX was the 2012 model and was a classy Titanium Silver/Black. It had so many features that our current car doesn’t so I was constantly amazed every time I or my husband would see something new or different about it compared to our really small car. There are some great small car lease choices but since our family is growing, we needed a big car.

First, obviously, is the size. Our car right now is just a regular size one (though I sometimes think it’s a small one) that could fit 4 people, or probably 5 if all 3 people at the back are skinny. The Sorento is a 7 (or 8) seater including the seats at the 3rd row which can be folded so you can use the space for your stuff.

My husband and I have been planning what car to get in about a year or two and we’ve decided that it has to be an SUV since we’re a growing family. But even if it was just the 3 of us plus my mother-in-law in the car, it felt like there was just enough space for us. Probably because when you have a baby, it’s just normal to need to bring a lot of stuff everywhere you go. Here are a couple of photos of the Sorento’s exterior.

Very nice right? The Kia Sorento’s interior is even nicer!

On the front row, there’s just so many controls for so many features! With this SUV, you only need to push a button to start it! Of course you need to have the car keys with you to actually get it to start since it has to be able to detect the keys.

What if you need to adjust your seat’s position? That’s not an issue with the Kia Sorento! I simply need to feel the controls on the right side of the passenger seat (or the left side of the driver’s seat) and move the controls forward or backward or up or down until I find the most comfortable position! No more pushing and pulling of the seats just to find a good position. It also has lumbar support in the driver’s seat to help your posture and adjust your position especially on long drives. And speaking of positions, the vehicle remembers the last position of the driver’s seat and mirrors so you won’t need to adjust it every time! So convenient!

The Kia Sorento has a rear camera display so you can see the surrounding area when you’re backing up and it warns you if you’re getting too close to something.

And when you’re not backing up, the monitor also serves as a display for radio (it has the Sirius satellite radio), navigation, bluetooth calls, etc. The center “control area” is also where you can adjust the A/C temperature as well as seat temperature which is especially important during the winter season. For both A/C temperature and seat temperature, you can adjust the driver’s side at a different temperature as the passenger’s side.

The Kia Sorento also has input jacks for USB and AUX. And below that is a space where you can put your phones while charging or your coins, pens, etc.

It’s a pretty big space and I love it because it doesn’t look too crowded. In the case of our current car, that space is non-existent and it has the cup holders instead so this is something that I really like with the Sorento since I feel like everything is just an arm’s reach from me. It actually still has some more space under that where you can put more coins or maybe some receipts that you need to keep or just about anything small enough that you need to hide from the kids.

For the times that I was seated on the second row of this Kia Sorento with my son on his car seat, I felt like there was enough room for the 2 of us there.

His car seat was placed the center and I sat on one side. Though the other side was full of his stuff, I didn’t feel cramped. There was also a brief time when my hubby put him on the rightmost seat on the 2nd row and I was able to use the center armrest and cup holder which is great since I always want my drink and my son’s sippy cup in a place where I can easily access it but is safe enough from spills.

The back of the Sorento has so much space that I could fit a stroller and a couple of bags and coolers in it. Here’s a photo of it.

So as a final note on this Kia Sorento review, here at are the top 4 reasons I love this vehicle:

THE FUEL ECONOMY. With the Kia Sorento EX, we didn’t need to fill up the tank so often even if we drove it around a lot! For me, that is a HUGE plus! With gas prices going up, it’s good to know that I can go places without getting broke. My husband says this SUV is the most fuel-efficient vehicles he’s ever driven (and since he was a professional driver before, that’s a big thing!)

THE SAFETY FEATURES. Safety is one of the most important things to consider when choosing a family car/vehicle. With its airbags, front active headrests and LATCH, I know I can be at ease when driving the Sorento with my son.

THE POWER. Though this SUV is a 4-cylinder, it had good power. It was pretty easy to drive it and it didn’t feel like I was carrying a huge vehicle which is how it sometimes feels when I’m driving our small car. If you want a 6-cylinder though, I think you can add that feature too.

THE POWER FOLDING SIDE MIRRORS. Hubby and I love this feature so much because you’ll never know if someone parks so near your car to the point of scratching your side mirror. Or if someone walks along the side of your parked car and unintentionally hits your side mirror. Or if someone just decides to steal your side mirrors (it happens in some places!). With this feature, you won’t need to worry about that.

So would we buy the Kia Sorento as our family car? Most probably! It’s an amazing car with so many advanced features that are important to me and my family. And I know Kia is constantly adding features to its newer models. Hubby and I felt really sad that we had to return it after 7 days but we’re thankful for the opportunity to test it and see if it’s a good fit for our family. Now we just need to save up for it.

The price for a 2012 Kia Sorento starts at $25,950 and you can opt for additional features based on your need.

*I received a 2012 Kia Sorento EX for one week to facilitate this review. No compensation was received for this post. All opinions are my own. All photos except the first one are mine. See my Disclosure Policy.

I love the rear camera display feature. Looks like such a nice car! Wouldn’t it be neat if it had the sign writing on the side with Bay Area Mommy, I thought it did for a minute with the watermark in your picture 🙂

We are in the market for a new car and have been thinking about checking out the Sorento so I loved your review! The trunk looks huge and I’m glad to hear the fuel economy is great. It’s definitely an important factor these days. Adding this to our must test drive list.

I love the gas mileage on this vehicle. It’s not quite big enough for my family so I’ll stick with my minivans, but it’s great to know there’s good options! Thanks for the great review!Erika recently posted..TGIF Giveaway Linky – August 24, 2012

I love Kia’s. I had one and sonmeone thought testing was more important than paying attention to driving. He totaled it. Now I have the old Mimi van that has no working heat or air. It guzzles gas and whistles when you turn it off. I miss my Kia and I miss not hurting everyday.Jane Ritz recently posted..First blog

Yeah, those fancy-pants power folding rear-view mirrors are a nice touch, and another nicety that may break somewhere down the line, but if you’re living in an area where they’re ripping off mirrors, you need to move or not visit those areas, especially with your kids! But it is a very nice looking little SUV.

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Hi! I'm Alice and this is my blog! Check out my posts and hang out with me here on your spare time. I have lots of product reviews, giveaways, and stuff on pretty much anything I'm passionate about -- tech, entertainment, travel, and a lot more! Be sure to drop me a line in the comments section on any post! :) [Read more]